The present invention relates to a method of using a single-throw switch circuit for controlling the revolving speed of a ceiling fan and the light intensity of the lamps on the ceiling fan according to the switching time (the time interval between turning the single-throw switch off and then back on again). The present invention also relates to a single-throw switch circuit for use in the aforesaid method, which comprises a microprocessor that regulates the revolving speed of the ceiling fan when the switching time surpasses one second, or regulates the light intensity of the lamps on the ceiling fan when the switching time is shorter than one second.
The operation of a conventional ceiling fan and light assembly is controlled by a pull chain switch or switches. The user must come to the ceiling fan and light assembly to pull the appropriate chain switch, in order to regulate fan speed or light intensity. This is inconvenient. Furthermore, the use of the pull chain switch destroys the sense of beauty of the ceiling fan and light assembly.
There is known another control method that eliminates the aforesaid problem. This control method uses two separate switches to control the operation of the ceiling fan and the operation of the lamps respectively. The switch for controlling the operation of the ceiling fan is a rotary switch, which is commonly installed in the wall and tamed to regulate the revolving speed of the ceiling fan by changing the impedance of a capacitor, which provides power to the fan motor of the ceiling fan. The major drawback of this method is it requires a complicated installation procedure for the switches.
There is known still another control method for controlling the operation of a ceiling fan and light assembly by means of a remote-controller. It is convenient and functional to use a remote-controller to control the operation of a ceiling fan and light assembly. However, the cost of a remote-controller for this purpose is high.
There is known still another control method for controlling the operation of a ceiling fan and light assembly by means of a multi-step single-throw switch. However, this structure of such a multi-step single-throw switch is a mechanical switching device that does not eliminate the drawback of controlling the revolving speed of the ceiling and the light intensity of the lamps in proper order.
The present invention has been accomplished in view of the above circumstances. It is one object of the present invention to provide a single-throw switch for controlling the operation of a ceiling fan and light assembly that permits the user to regulate the revolving speed of the ceiling fan or the light intensity of the lamps independently. It is another object of the present invention to provide a method of using a single-throw switch to control the operation of a ceiling fan and light assembly that allows the revolving speed of the ceiling fan and the light intensity of the lamps to be independently controlled. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a single-throw switch for controlling the operation of a ceiling fan and light assembly, which comprises a microprocessor that regulates the revolving speed of the ceiling fan when the interrupting time during each switching cycle of the single-step single throw switch surpasses one second, or that regulates the light intensity of the lamps fan when the interrupting time is shorter than one second.